Nightmares & Dreams A WPBA forum Challenge
by flubber
Summary: Supplies are running low,tensions are running high and the Wraith are weighing heavily on everyone's mind. What dreams may come to those in this situation?


Nightmares & Dreams.

This is written in response to the Nightmares and Dreams Challenge — on the When Plot Bunnies Attack Forum on ff dot net

Challenge Summary — Supplies are running low, tensions are running high and the Wraith are weighing heavily on everyone's minds. What dreams may come to those in this situation?

Authors Note : - I do not have any rights to the characters or settings. I am just borrowing them for this fic.

Challenge Specs — This takes place in season one, before the Daedelus arrives. This can cover the nightmares/dreams of any major characters — NO OCs, must have two dreams, one pleasant one and one not so pleasant one, you may write as many characters as you want, the nightmares can be as surreal or as gory as you like depending on personal writing style and taste, any kind of shippyness allowed.

Genre Specs — Anything you like, but there must be at least a touch of angst.

Optional Specs — The lines , " I'm sorry it had to come to this, (insert character name here)" and "I'm a Doctor, not an engineer!" may be included if you like.

Please note: This story is written with the assumption that Sheppard would have described the way that a body looked after the life had been sucked out of it and that Wraith blood is black.

Chapter 1 — Doctor Elizabeth Weir.

Her Dream.

Doctor Elizabeth Weir was getting ready for bed. She had had a busy day.

Things were getting fraught. Supplies were beginning to get low and this was beginning to affect morale. Tensions were beginning to mount.

She was getting fed up with people coming to her to complain about having to eat MREs and scientists, mostly Rodney, complaining about the shortage of coffee and how a lack of caffeine would affect their work!

Not only that, the specter of the Wraith attack loomed large on the horizon. She had no idea how they were going to face this and if they would come out of it in one piece.

But this was something to face tomorrow. Now, all she wanted to do was lay her head on her pillow and fall asleep.

As she lay her head on the pillow, her eyelids began to droop and eventually she drifted into, what seemed to be a restful sleep.

This was her dream.

... The day of her wedding dawned warm and bright.

She had been looking forward to this for months now. Soon she was going to cease to be Doctor Elizabeth Weir and would become Doctor Elizabeth Wallis.

Of course things hadn't gone all her own way, especially where the arrangements were concerned. All she had wanted was a quiet family affair that was very simple, with a dress of simple elegance.

Instead what she had got was something that had turned into a 'Main Event' and her dress felt more like a glorified lamp shade than what she had wanted.

_"It's too late now!"_ she thought as she paced around the room.

Still she was wondering if this was the right thing. She had known Simon for years. From the moment they met she had always known they would marry. Simon was a 'safe pair of hands'. He was someone who could give her a secure future.

That was what she wanted. Or at least that was what she thought she wanted until she met a certain Air Force Major by the name of John Sheppard.

He had a reputation and every one had warned her about him and yet, she found herself strangely attracted to him.

She wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was his unruly hair, or maybe it was the way that he just had to look at her with his beautiful brown 'puppy dog' eyes to get what he wanted.

"Damn it!" she thought to herself, "Why do I have to work with this man?"

And yet, despite his reputation, he had never tried to force himself upon her. All the attention that he had given her had been on a friendly and professional level.

But, no matter how she tried, she couldn't deny there was chemistry there. There had been times when she could have thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. From the look in his eyes she was sure he would've kissed her back.

"Oh God! This isn't fair."

She sat in a chair with her head in her hands. There was a knock at the door.

"It is Teyla. Can I come in?"

"Yes. Of course," she said, relieved at the thought of having some company.

Teyla walked in. She was Elizabeth's chief bridesmaid.

"I've come to help you get ready," she said, looking at Elizabeth. "You look nervous. I have been told that this is quite a normal reaction at this time on one's wedding day."

Elizabeth looked at her and smiled. "Yes. It is. Everything is going to be ok. I'm sure I am doing the right thing."

She wasn't sure for whose benefit she was saying this, hers or Teyla's?

Reaching for the dress she thought, "I'm sure once I'm at the church everything will be ok."

The rest of the preparations went without a hitch. Various people cam to wish her well and to see if there was anything she wanted.

She greeted them with excited smiles and yet, at the back of her mind there was still this nagging doubt, "Am I doing the right thing?"

At the appointed hour there was one final knock at the door. "Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Teyla went to open the door. There, resplendent in his dress uniform was one Brigadier General Jack O'Neill.

"Hey there gorgeous. How you doing?" he said with a huge grin on his face.

Elizabeth greeted him with a warm hug. "Everything ok?" he said looking her in the face.

She smiled nervously and replied, "Yes, everything is fine. I'm just having some pre wedding jitters that's all. There's no need to worry."

"That's great." Jack said taking her arm and placing it in his.

"In that case, Daniel is waiting to escort this lovely lady," he said looking at Teyla with a smile, "And I'm ready to do my duty for _you_."

After that everything seemed to go by in a blur. Daniel and Teyla spent the journey to the church in pleasant conversation. Jack sat quietly and smiled and Elizabeth's stomach gently tied itself in knots.

No matter how much she tried to tell herself that this was pre-wedding jitters, she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more to what was happening to her. This feeling had a name and the name was John Sheppard, Major, USAF.

As she walked up the aisle, she scanned the people. She couldn't see him. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved.

There in front of the altar, stood Simon in his tuxedo. _"Very handsome."_ she thought.

Soon all thoughts of Major Sheppard were forgotten.

All went smoothly until- "Does any person or persons here present know of any just cause or impediment to these people being joined in holy matrimony? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

A voice spoke out from the back of the church, "I do."

Elizabeth turned round to see the figure of John Sheppard, in his dress uniform, walking up the aisle towards her. A deathly hush fell over the church.

"I know you and I haven't know each other that long. So maybe I'm wrong here. I've always felt there was a chemistry between us and I just wanted to be sure."

Elizabeth looked at him with a look of shock and utter confusion.

"Anyhow," he continued, "If you want a safe pair of hands, then stay with Simon. If you want some excitement and danger then come with me. "

Elizabeth felt awful. What should she do? Simon was the safe future, dependable. John was danger and excitement, unpredictability.

Suddenly her 'inner voice' said, _"John's the one you want. Now go!" _

She turned to Simon and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I'm sorry. I really am!"

Pulling off her veil she ran down the aisle to meet him. Taking her hand in his, they ran out of the church to a car that was waiting outside.

Rodney was sat at the wheel. "You took your time didn't you? I was beginning to wonder if you would go through with it!"

"I had to wait for the right moment." John said with a smile as he helped Elizabeth in to the back seat.

Jumping in beside her, he said, "Ok. Let's get going. Your place Rodney, if you don't mind."

Giving a mock salute, Rodney replied, "Sir. Yes sir."

As the car moved off Elizabeth turned to John. Putting her arms around his neck, she pulled him close and gave him a passionate kiss. John sighed as he kissed her back.

When they arrived at Rodney's house, he showed her through to his spare room.

Motioning to the case on the bed, he said, " We thought you might want to change."

"Could you ask John to come in for a moment?" she said with a smile

Suddenly a familiar face peered round the edge of the door, "Hi. What can I do for you?'

"Firstly you can explain to me what Rodney meant when he said, 'We thought you might want to change'."

"You didn't think that I did this on my own. I had some help." he said laughing, "What was the second thing?"

"You can help me out of this stupid dress." she said turning her back towards him.

Slowly he pulled down the zip, easing the dress off Elizabeth's shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. As he did so, he ran his hands over her shoulders and along her arms. He began to kiss her neck. She giggled as his hair tickled her skin.

"Mmm." she murmured "I want to make love."

John stopped what he was doing, turned her round to face him. Looking at her sweet face, he said, "There's no hurry. I have a week to spend with you."

Elizabeth looked worried. "You haven't gone A.W.O.L have you?"

"No. I had some leave to take. I figured I'd either be celebrating or commiserating, so it seemed like a good idea."

Taking off his jacket he threw it on the bed beside the case. Loosening his tie and undoing the top button of his shirt, he moved forward and took hold of Elizabeth and kissed her madly, passionately. As he did so he gently pushed her back on to the bed.

" Elizabeth ..."

-------

Her alarm went off. After having checked the time, she lay back on her bed and smiled.

"Like that would ever happen!"

-------

Her Nightmare.

Elizabeth heard shouts and screams coming from outside her room. She struggled to sit up. As she did so she felt someone brush against her back.

"Hello again, Elizabeth. I hope you don't mind me dropping in to see you like this."

She recognized the voice and shuddered. _"Acastus Kolya,"_ she thought.

"How the hell did you get in here?" She spat the words out with venom.

"All hell's breaking loose. I'm amazed you haven't heard anything." he whispered in to her ear.

His breath was warm and she was aware of how close his body felt.

"It doesn't matter how I get here. All that matters is that I am here, and as I'm here you are now mine."

As he said this he kissed her neck. She shuddered violently. Shouts and screams punctuated the silence from the corridor beyond her quarters.

"What's going on?" she asked, trying to turn round to see where Kolya was standing.

"Your people are under attack from the Wraith. I have to admit that I'm quite surprised that they are putting up such a good fight."

Grabbing her from behind, he felt her squirming in his grasp.

"You are coming with me. Don't worry, I won't let anything hurt you." As he said this she felt him put a blindfold on her.

Dragging her from the bed, he pushed her outside her quarters. Kolya roughly guided her down the corridor. As she was bare foot, she could feel something warm and sticky under her feet.

_"Oh my God!"_ she thought, _"This can't be happening."_

She fought back the tears. She wasn't going to let him see her cry.

As she was dragged along, her feet kept banging against things. She didn't want to think of what, or _who_, they could be.

The screams around her got louder. She felt hands clawing and pulling her.

Voices coming from unseen faces screamed at her. Male, female, all seemed to melt in to one, louder and louder.

"Help us! Help us! Please God, you can't leave us to die like this!"

Kolya kept dragging her along, painfully, relentlessly. She had lost all sense of direction and as a result had no idea where she was.

"Let me stop to help them. They need me!" She cried, trying to slip from his grasp. "They need help. Please let me try."

Kolya laughed, "They needed you at the beginning of this fight. Where were you then? You were sleeping. You couldn't even stay awake to help them."

"Please! Please let me go! I have to try to help them now! Now I'm awake I should at least try! Please let me go!" She pleaded with him.

"Oh I could let you go, but it's far too late. The damage has been done. There's no time left. You are too late my dear," he said, smoothing her hair with his hand.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a stab of pain going through her heart.

"The end is near. There was no Z.P.M to save Atlantis. There was no time to get away, no time to destroy the city."

Kolya stopped and pulled her to face him. Still blindfolded, she tried to focus on where the voice was coming from.

"It's over. You have lost the fight, the battle _and_ the war. And what's more, eventually, you will lose Earth to the Wraith as well."

Elizabeth felt her chest begin to tighten, the pain was becoming more and more intense.

"What are you talking about? They don't have the co-ordinates or the technology to get to Earth," she said, a note of derision in her voice.

"Yes, yes they _do_ have the co-ordinates. They managed to get them out of one of your staff. Not only that, they have been able to upload all the gate addresses and the locations of all the planets in the Ancient database."

She was going to be sick. _"This isn't the way it should end!"_ she thought to herself.

Kolya continued, "So they will be able to hunt for food here, in the Pegasus galaxy. As for Earth, it is only a matter of time before they find a way there."

Putting his mouth close to her ear, he said softly, "So you might as well face it. You are finished. This is the end of everything. The dream is over!"

"I won't believe it! I won't believe that this is how it is going to end!" she cried, "There must be a way out of this. There has to be!"

"Are you expecting Rodney to get you out of this like he usually does?" Kolya questioned.

Elizabeth nodded her head, uncertainly.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. That's not going to happen this time. There will be no way out. No last minute reprieve for you or those around you."

Kolya laughed.

Elizabeth was sickened at the sound. How could he find this at all amusing? How could he stand there and let these people die around them without trying to raise a hand to help?

"Why are you doing this to me? Why won't you let me help? I should be there with my people!" she cried out, the pain evident in her voice.

It was becoming evident that her fear and uncertainty was being replaced by anger. She could feel it welling up inside her.

"Let me go! Let me go _now_!" she screamed, She could no longer contain the anger that she felt.

"I'm only trying to save you from the pain of seeing all this death and destruction. But if that's how you want it."

He stopped moving and stood behind her.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this Doctor Weir. This is your choice. I was quite prepared to take you away from it all. Are you sure that this is what you want to do?"

Standing in silence she nodded.

"So be it." he said as he took off the blindfold.

As she looked around her, she suddenly became aware of the smell. It was the sweet, sickly smell of death.

The gateroom was full of bodies, both Wraith and human alike. Some had the life sucked out of them. Some had been shot. The floor was awash with a mixture of black and red blood. It seemed to mingle together in a strange sticky mess.

Elizabeth wretched as she realized that that was what she was standing in.

Awash with emotions, Elizabeth let out a cry that was almost primal. It seemed to be ripped from her very soul.

"No!" she said as she could hold her tears back no longer.

Seeing John's body lying on the gateroom stairs, she ran down and took him in her arms.

He had a big hole in his chest and he was covered in blood. His body was cold and she looked in to his unseeing eyes.

"I'm sorry, I did my best. I'm only human. I didn't want it to end like this."

Still holding on to John, she looked around her. The bodies began to move. Slowly they began to get up and come towards her.

She looked at them in horror. They were in various states of decay, Some were desiccated and devoid of the life essence that had recently been theirs. Others had been shot and had pieces of their bodies missing. All of them were heading towards her in silence.

"What do you want from me? What else could I have done? Please this isn't my fault. This isn't the way that I wanted it to end. Please. Please leave me alone." she screamed.

As she said this, she felt the bodies close in on her, hands grabbing at her skin and hair. Slowly she began to be engulfed.

Elizabeth screamed.

Sitting bolt upright, she looked around her. Her breath was ragged and she was wet with sweat. Her sheets were damp beneath her.

Slowly she got up and struggled to the bathroom. Splashing her face with water she looked around her.

Everything was ok…..

For now.


End file.
